New Yorkers flood state health exchange website at opening

The state’s new online health insurance market launched at 8:00 this morning, to an immediate influx of 2 million visitors on its website, according to Donna Frescatore, the executive director of the market, called NY State of Health. That created long wait times initially, but the volume has eased off, Frescatore said. Wait time on a phone call to the NY State of Health customer service center was over 5 minutes, she said at 10 a.m. The market, or exchange, has been set up with a $370 million grant from the federal government, to meet requirements of the federal Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Frescatore said the state is able to access federal data and funding needed to keep the site running, regardless of the federal fiscal showdown.